Shloka 393

Hiḍimba’s Approach and Hiḍimbā’s Warning to Bhīmasena (हिडिम्बागमनम् / हिडिम्बा-भयवचनम्)

Devanagari script

तमागतमभिप्रेत्य शृगालो<प्यब्रवीद्‌ वच: । बाघने कहा--यदि वह ऐसी बात कहता है, तब तो उसने इस समय मेरी आँखें खोल दीं--मुझे सचेत कर दिया। आजसे मैं अपने ही बाहुबलके भरोसे वन-जन्तुओंका वध किया करूँगा और उन्हींका मांस खाऊँगा। यों कहकर बाघ वनमें चला गया। इसी समय चूहा भी (नहा-धोकर) वहाँ आ पहुँचा। उसे आया देख गीदड़ने कहा

Transliteration

tam āgatam abhipretya śṛgālo 'py abravīd vacaḥ |

Translation

Seeing him arrive and understanding his intention, the jackal too spoke these words. (The narrative continues: the tiger, taking the earlier counsel as an awakening, resolves to rely on his own strength to hunt forest animals and live on their flesh; he departs into the woods. At that very moment the mouse arrives, and the jackal addresses him.)

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'tam', 'gloss': 'him

• that one (accusative singular masculine)'}, {'term': 'āgatam', 'gloss': 'arrived

• come (past participle, accusative singular masculine)'}, {'term': 'abhipretya', 'gloss': 'having understood/considered

• having inferred the intention (gerund of abhi-√i / abhi-√prā)'}, {'term': 'śṛgālaḥ', 'gloss': 'jackal'}, {'term': 'api', 'gloss': 'also

• even'}, {'term': 'abravīt', 'gloss': 'said

• spoke (3rd person singular, perfect/aorist usage of √brū)'}, {'term': 'vacaḥ', 'gloss': 'speech

Speaker

व्याप्र उवाच

Characters & Entities

• śṛgāla (jackal)
• vyāghra (tiger) [from the surrounding narrative context]
• mūṣaka (mouse) [from the surrounding narrative context]
• vana (forest) [from the surrounding narrative context]

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Discernment (viveka) in ethical life: one should understand motives and rely on rightful effort rather than being misled by convenient counsel; the episode frames a shift toward self-reliant, honest livelihood (hunting by one’s own strength) and warns against manipulation in speech.

What is happening in the narrative?

The jackal notices someone’s arrival and, grasping the intention, begins to speak. In the immediate surrounding story, the tiger has just resolved to hunt for himself and leaves; then the mouse arrives, and the jackal addresses him, continuing the chain of dialogue typical of a nīti-style animal tale.